PPL Corp. has increased its base capital plan to $25 billion for 2027 through 2030, $2 billion above its prior plan, driven mainly by a proposed combined-cycle natural gas plant in Kentucky. President and CEO Vincent Sorgi outlined the change during the company's third-quarter earnings call, Utility Dive reported.
If regulators approve it, the Kentucky plant would provide 645 MW of capacity and is expected to begin commercial operation in the second quarter of 2032. PPL's spending in Kentucky, where it operates Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, is set to rise from $2.3 billion in 2026 to $3.6 billion in 2027.
The company's Kentucky development pipeline grew by 1 GW to 14.7 GW of potential load growth through 2032, with data center load making up 12.8 GW of that total. Sorgi said the next Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity filing, expected in the first quarter of 2027, will follow once PPL signs a data center electric service agreement in the state. The Kentucky Public Service Commission has denied earlier PPL requests for new gas capacity.
"I personally think we're going to be building generation for the foreseeable future in Kentucky, just given what we see with the quarter-over-quarter movement in the pipeline," Sorgi said.
In Pennsylvania, data center projects in advanced stages rose for the 11th straight quarter to 35.3 GW, up 3.5 GW from the second quarter. Projects with a 50% or greater probability of success now total 4 GW of additional peak demand.
Invitium Energy, a joint venture in which PPL holds 51% alongside Blackstone, signed a letter of intent with QTS Data Centers covering about 2 GW of generation for QTS's Salem Township project in Pennsylvania under a 20-year initial term.
Source: Utility Dive -- https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ppl-increases-capital-plan-to-25b-with-proposed-kentucky-gas-plant/874129/